Thursday, February 7, 2013

Book Review - Touch and Go, by Lisa Gardner

Don't let the stars deceive you, this thriller by Lisa Gardner is good! It had me in tears several times as the author went through the private lives of the victims, perpetrators and investigators of a kidnapping in the Boston area.

I really enjoyed the use of first person for Libby Denbe's character. As the wife of Justin Denbe, she gave the reader a very personalized view of the family's home life before the abduction. Gardner's choice of voice was strong throughout, using accounts from private investigator Tessa Leoni, NH Detective Wyatt, and the kidnappers themselves, to wind the story around.

I was utterly ensnared not only by the action and motives of each suspect and character, but also by the relations between them. I really loved Z, his whole character development. The killer with no morals yet high respect for how the game is played and high regard for those who stand up in the face of danger. Radar, too, with his subtle helping, here and there. However, the plot had some major holes for me.

First, the prison in which the family is kept. Really? The state of New Hampshire is going to build a prison and not use it (which I could believe) but then have it completely electrically hooked up and ready to go? The thermostat always set at 77 degrees? Really? That's a lot of money to waste, isn't it? And at first, I thought the lights were always on, but at the end, the kidnappers shut the lights off. The power company isn't going to notice a huge spike in output from that location? I think they just might.

The rest of my problems involve SPOILERS, OMG, SPOILERS, FOR REAL I WILL GIVE AWAY THE WHOLE FREAKING BOOK RIGHT HERE SO STOP READING, JUST KNOW IT HAS HOLES, OKAY?!